Monday, September 6, 2004

TV dinners for lunch..? Oh, dare to dream.
Comment Commentary

Shin- I refuse to dignify that with a response. >:|

Solo- Ooh, national. They always just show "Los Angeles" for our area.

Mimmi- Done and done.

Godel- Typing keeps my fingers nice and strong. Getting them in the right "position" is the problem. :P

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You know I am really running low on post ideas when I decide to review a CD I have, song by song. I came up with this idea yesterday (Well, not really.. I did it a while back when Yuki Kajiura's Fiction came out), but the main problem was choosing which CD to rant about. It's not like I really have that many..

But in the end, through the mighty and infinite wisdom of Shin, it was decided that I would talk about Weird Al Yankovic's "Bad Hair Day."

A year or two ago I was heavily into collecting Weird Al CDs. At the time I really had no definite taste in music- I mainly got the records for the humor, and there's always a good variety of music (Which is good when you have no real preference).

Bad Hair Day was one of the last I added to my collection. It never really struck me as the funniest CD ever, from what I had heard of it, so it came last. Predictably, I listened to it a couple times, laughed a bit, and went back to Running with Scissors.

Well, a couple days ago my brother was playing it in his room and I felt extremely tempted to listen. After getting through most of the CD, I had a bit of a revelation- Bad Hair Day is the best of Al's records musically, not comically. I shall now list off the songs and why they all kick so much ass.

Amish Paradise- Parody of "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio. It's hardcore gangsta rap with Amish people. How cool is that?

To be honest, I am a small, casual fan of some more dark (musically, not lyrically) rap. I was introduced to Gangsta's Paradise via Amish Paradise, which I think has better lyrics. But that's just me.

Everything You Know is Wrong- Style parody of They Might Be Giants. This one is incredibly upbeat and bouncy, with some of the most random and hilarious lyrics I have ever come across. The entire song is enjoyable, but I particularly like the segment with the surfer-style guitar solo. It sort of reminds me of the end of Pulp Fiction, heh..

Cavity Search- Parody of "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" by U2. The opening is energizing and catchy, but the song quickly declines into a dull, repetitive diddy with lyrics that are in no way Al's best. The muzak version of the opening is rather cool, though.

Callin' In Sick. While the lyrics are a bit entertaining, most of the song itself is mellow and uninteresting (Aside from the bridge, where the guitar picks things up a bit). I suppose that could be considered the point of the song, if you want to look into it a bit, but that's not that good of an excuse.

The Alternative Polka- Ah, Al's polkas. For those of you who aren't familiar with his music (And I severely apologize to you about this post and the burning isolation you must feel), Al tends to make a medley of popular songs he couldn't make parodies out of and puts them in polka form. Though they are interesting for a while, once you've heard a good deal of them they all tend to melt together. The only things that really make them stand out are the songs used, and unfortunately, I do not enjoy, let alone recognize, any of the songs in this particular polka. Let's move on.

Since You've Been Gone- Since You've Been Gone is an entirely acapella (no instruments, just voices) song harmonized between four or five guys. Most of the lyrics are Al whining about how much he hurts since his girlfriend left him (In disturbingly graphic detail), and the only part that's really fun is the ending line (it makes the song all one big insult).. It's enjoyable to pick out pieces of vocals and figure out all of the different parts of the harmonizing.

Gump- Parody of "Lump" by the Presidents of the United States. As with most of Al's movie-related songs, Gump basically summarizes the story of its popular cinematic counterpart. I found it funny, despite never seeing the movie, and the song itself is catchy as well. Stylin'.

I'm So Sick of You. Lame song, lame lyrics, not funny, not good, let's continue.

Syndicated Inc.- Parody of "Misery" by Soul Asylum. A song about addiction to television with a slick, enjoyable melody. It's mellow in a good way, unlike "Callin' In Sick," and the bridge is a bit "louder" than the rest of the song, but it doesn't break the tone set by the verses.

*gives this one the "Bestest track on the CD" sticker of approval*

I Remember Larry. "I Remember Lary" is a song in which Al recalls his childhood prankster, Larry, and all of the horrible things he has done to him in the past. In the end, Al ends up kidnapping Larry, taking him into the forest and burying him inside of a plastic bag/coffin. The lyrics are rather creative (so many original ways to torture a guy), and the song is not too bad either, despite its being a tad repetitive. This one is one of the songs that my young, impressionable mind absorbed and then had to imitate (Don't go back to Palmdale Lake, and most certainly don't go digging around <_<).

Phony Calls- Parody of "Waterfalls" by TLC. It's R&B.. Uninteresting R&B with generic lyrics (by Al standards, anyway). This is probably my least favorite song on the CD.

The Night Santa Went Crazy. An extremely good closing song for Bad Hair Day, "The Night Santa Went Crazy" is the story of every gentile's favorite Christmas-related character going on a drunken rampage throughout the North Pole, leading to his inevitable incarceration.

Look deep inside your heart. Didn't you, too, know deep down inside that Santa Claus was a cold-blooded murderer by night?

The music is near indecipherable from any other modern Christmas song, with bells and a warm and comforting tune playing throughout, which just adds to the irony of the song.

There were also two extra-gory endings that were only performed in concert, which you can find here and here.

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..And now, in retrospect, I realize that I really, really shouldn't become a music critic when I grow up, because I just plain suck at it. Oh well, I'll be sure to make up for it tomorrow, with a summary of my glorious return to the world of the underbudgeted American public school system.

Teh SillyCircus Day 22- I have a harder time patting my stomach and rubbing my head than patting my head and rubbing my stomach. Is that a learning disability?
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